I spent ten years trying to win over Jasper Kingston. All he had to do was say “I do” at our wedding, and I could finally go back to my own world. But at the last possible second, his adopted sister, Stella Kingston, made a call. That one phone call was enough for him to abandon our wedding, leaving me stranded. I stood there on the stage, mortified, when Jasper’s uncle, Dominic Kingston, reached out to me. “Riley,” he said, his voice a steady anchor, “I’ll take you away from here.” That single sentence was enough. I decisively switched my mission target. I thought I’d succeed quickly. But five years with Dominic, and he’d give me anything but marriage. Then I saw it with my own eyes: Dominic pulling a ring, hidden deep at the bottom of his dresser, and giving it to Stella. A single tear slid down my cheek. They never loved me. Not from the beginning. Later, I had no will to live, and I took a leap. So why were they sobbing, begging me for just one more look? … “Stella, my biggest regret in this life is not marrying you.” “Seeing you with your own child now, I don’t regret a single thing—not even confessing my feelings to you for your sake and ditching Riley.” Dominic took a sparkling diamond ring, strung it on a necklace, and placed it around Stella’s neck, who had just given birth. “This way, it’s like I married you.” My boyfriend was professing his undying love to another woman right in front of me, while the System’s conquest value kept plummeting in my ear. My hands and feet turned to ice, frozen to the spot. [Host, mission failed. Initiating erasure.] My last target failed too. Tears finally spilled, uncontrollable. Fifteen years ago, a car accident somehow transported me to this world. The System told me if I could successfully complete my mission, I could go back, whole and alive. At first, I targeted Jasper Kingston, Dominic’s nephew. But he only ever loved his adopted sister, Stella. Later, the System allowed me to change targets, and I chose Dominic, the man who’d pulled me from my lowest point. But no matter how much I gave, it never measured up to a single word from Stella in their eyes. I closed my eyes. The past swarmed like ants, gnawing at my heart, a thousand tiny stings. The System, in its cold way, “kindly” reminded me that automatic erasure was too painful. It suggested I end myself. Like a robot, I walked out of the maternity ward and went back to the mansion. One by one, I tossed all the gifts Dominic had given me into the fireplace. If I was leaving, I’d leave nothing behind. But then, I accidentally set the curtains on fire. I frantically tried to get water to put it out, when suddenly, someone grabbed my arm, yanking me back with brute force. “Riley, are you insane?! Are you trying to burn yourself alive?” Red marks bloomed on my forearm, a searing pain spreading up my arm. I stared blankly at Jasper Kingston, his chest heaving right in front of me. He was the first person I’d been intimate with in this strange new world. My very first target. When I met him, I didn’t know he was the elder Kingston heir. Back then, he was broke, and I stayed by his side, helping him build his empire from scratch. The day Jasper’s company went public, the System told me my conquest value was at 90%. But then, at our wedding, Stella’s single phone call made Jasper abandon me, still in my wedding dress. Now, I didn’t argue with him. I just headed for the bathroom to get water to douse the flames. “Don’t worry, Jasper. Even if I die, I won’t drag anyone else down.” Jasper’s face darkened. Suddenly, something clicked for him, and he sneered. “Riley, do you have any conscience saying that?” He jabbed his finger repeatedly into my chest, pain blooming instantly. “Right, what conscience could someone like you possibly have?” At the wedding, Stella had said just one thing on that call: “Brother, Riley told me to die. She said my existence was getting in the way of your happiness.” Because of Stella’s single sentence, Jasper dismissed everything good I’d ever done. He looked at me with profound disappointment, speaking in a chilling tone: “Riley, why can’t you just leave Stella alone? You’re just… evil to the core.” I’d explained countless times that I never told Stella to die, but Jasper always remained silent, looking at me with pure disgust. The System said Jasper’s conquest value had dropped into the negative, with no chance of ever rising again. But now, he, who should have been by Stella’s side after she’d just given birth, was here. Was there, for just a fleeting second, a moment he remembered my kindness to him? “Jasper, are you worried about me?” I looked up, my eyes filled with a desperate hope. 2 But the very next second, Jasper’s words froze my heart solid. “Who’d worry about a malicious woman like you?” “I just came back to get clothes for the baby.” The disgust in his eyes pierced me deeply. Of course. His entire world revolved around Stella. Why would he believe me, even if I was about to die? I only learned after Jasper fled our wedding that he hadn’t actually been kicked out of the Kingston family. He’d left on his own accord, determined to marry his adopted sister. Being penniless wasn’t the consequence; it was part of his defiance. And I, who’d sacrificed everything for him, had simply become the testing ground for his love with Stella. I couldn’t bear to see his cold, indifferent face anymore. I turned to walk away. Just then, Jasper’s phone rang. We were standing too close. I heard Stella’s weeping voice clearly: “Jasper, our baby is gone!” “It’s Riley! Riley was at the hospital today. She must have taken our baby!” My eyes widened. Before I could even begin to explain, Jasper’s hand shot out, clamping around my neck. His voice was cold and deep. “Riley, hand over my son.” “You’ve been with my uncle for five years, why can’t you just leave Stella alone?!” The air was squeezed out of my lungs, little by little. Suffocation made me cough in ragged gasps, but I didn’t struggle. Just dying like this… would be a release. The next second, Jasper’s hand suddenly loosened. “Riley, you…” His voice trembled ever so slightly. I lunged at him, hitting and kicking, a storm of desperate rage. “Why?! Why didn’t you just choke me to death?!” The fleeting hint of reluctance in Jasper’s eyes instantly hardened into grim resolve. “You think if you die, I won’t find my son?!” I opened my mouth, wanting to explain that I hadn’t stolen his child, but Jasper never listened to my explanations. He violently dragged me out the door. “Jasper, I didn’t do it!” I struggled, but couldn’t break free. He practically threw me into his car. The car sped off, a blur of motion, stopping abruptly at the hospital entrance. Jasper forced me to my knees in front of Stella. “Riley, give us our child, or you know what I’m capable of!” I looked at Jasper’s harsh, cold face, my heart heavy with bitter sorrow. After he’d achieved success, he’d aggressively took over the elder Mr. Kingston’s company, pushing them out of any real power, all just to marry Stella. Was he going to use those same ruthless tactics on me now? “Riley, please, give me back my baby.” “As long as you give me back the child, I… I’ll do whatever you say…” Stella’s eyes were brimming with tears, her body trembling, making me look even more like a vicious female villain. Jasper kicked me hard in the chest. I instantly coughed up a mouthful of blood. It was always like this. The moment Stella cried, it was automatically my fault. I was so tired. Too tired to even explain. I just wanted this tedious mission to end. Even if it meant being utterly destroyed, my soul scattered to the winds. When I was first trying to win over Jasper, even though I was the “conqueror,” the System gave me no special advantages. I’m allergic to alcohol, but for him, I drank with clients until my stomach cramped and I ended up in the emergency room. That’s how we got our first, and most crucial, order. Without it, Jasper would have had to go home empty-handed. But no matter how much I did, it was never worth a single tear from Stella. The sound of crying and accusations hammered in my head, making my temples throB. My gaze drifted, finally landing on a fruit knife next to an apple. Before anyone could react, I sprang up, snatching the fruit knife. Jasper’s face went deadly pale. Just as I aimed for the major artery in my neck, Jasper’s fist struck, knocking the knife away. “Riley, you’re insane! Are you still trying to hurt Stella?!” Afraid I might still pose a threat to Stella, Jasper landed a fierce punch across my face. A searing pain shot through my eye socket. My right eye immediately swelled shut. A mocking smile twisted my lips. “Don’t worry. I won’t hurt Stella.” “Since all of you find me so unbearable, I’ll just die…” With that, I used my remaining open eye to grope for the fruit knife. It hurt so much. I just wanted to be free. But Jasper extinguished my hope once again. He slammed his foot onto my arm, grinding it in. “You think I’ll believe anything you say now?” Pain brought cold sweat to my forehead. “I… I don’t love you anymore. I have no motive to harm Stella…” Jasper’s foot loosened slightly. He seemed to recall that, over the years, I really hadn’t appeared in front of him much. Just as Jasper was about to lift his foot, the door burst open. Dominic Kingston stood there, looking down at me, his dark eyes radiating a cold light. “Riley, you saw it, didn’t you?” 3 I weakly lifted my head, seeing the sharp line of his jaw, devoid of any warmth. Dominic was my second conquest target, and my last. I once believed that he, the man who had taken me away from that chaotic wedding, was my salvation. But I was nothing but a forgotten detail, a mere speck of dust on Stella’s perfect story. Dominic crouched down, grabbing my face, forcing me to look at him. “Riley, I checked the security footage. You saw everything outside the door today, didn’t you?” “You stood outside, muttering to yourself. Were you giving instructions to someone through your Bluetooth earpiece, telling them to steal Stella’s baby?!” A mocking smile played on my lips. In my second year with Dominic, a rival company, desperate and bankrupt, tried to ram his car. I was the one who pushed him out of the way. Dominic was unharmed, but I spent six months in the hospital before I could walk again. Back then, Dominic held me tight, promising he’d never let me get hurt again. Yet now, it was him, shattering my heart into a thousand pieces. Seeing my silence, Dominic’s face grew even darker. “Riley, Stella is already married. There’s no future for me and her.” “Even now, you won’t let her go?” Jasper also watched me, his eyes cold and unwavering. I paused, then suddenly, a bitter laugh escaped me. So, Jasper knew all along that his uncle also loved Stella. “Yes, it was me. Just kill me.” There was no point in explaining; they wouldn’t believe me anyway. I closed my eyes, yearning for immediate release. Just then, Stella suddenly lunged beside me, gripping my hand tightly. “Miss Riley, I’ll give you anything you want. I’ll divorce Jasper right now, please, don’t hurt my baby.” But where no one else could see, Stella leaned close and whispered in my ear; “Riley, I hid the baby myself. Just die already!” “You think Dominic is your savior? Let me tell you, it was Dominic who orchestrated your family’s bankruptcy, and it was Dominic who drove your parents to their deaths—” I snapped my head up, meeting Stella’s eyes, which were filled with pure malice. The next second, she suddenly recoiled, clutching her head, and stumbled backward. “Riley, don’t hit me…” “Thump—!” Dominic kicked me hard, sending me flying towards the window. A tear slid down my cheek. My entire life had been a mistake. My parents in this world were the best to me. Even though my dad didn’t like Jasper, he still invested in his company for my sake. When Jasper abandoned me at the wedding, Dad was so furious he wanted to confront him. Mom would gently stroke my hair, saying I’d grown into a young woman, and quietly shed tears when I wore my wedding dress, telling me I’d always be their child, even after marriage. But these wonderful people suffered a tragic fate because of me. My hand rested on the window ledge. The dark, empty window behind me felt like a swirling vortex, endlessly tempting me. I closed my eyes for a moment, asking the System in my mind what their conquest values were. [Jasper Kingston: -38, Dominic Kingston: -5.] My heart felt like it had been ripped open, leaving only a hollow ache. I couldn’t hear the accusations around me, only their mouths moving, opening and closing. I was so tired. I just wanted to be free. I turned, climbed onto the window sill, and in front of Jasper and Dominic, without a hint of hesitation, I leaped. The last thing I saw was their frantic, rushing figures. 4 The biting wind lashed against my face, but I felt no pain. My past, the years I spent on this mission, flashed rapidly before my eyes.
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